As of January 27th, the Bureau of Legislative Affairs of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice started a new phase of public consultations regarding the decree that will regulate the Marco Civil da Internet. Civil society, private sector representatives and the academic community are invited to comment on the draft (available at the project’s website), containing the results of the contributions made during the first phase of the debate. The objective is to develop a document that will specify the already-approved legal provisions of the Marco Civil da Internet thus defining how will be implemented the rights and duties of private companies, public power, and citizens in the online environment.
Understanding the process
Law 12.965 passed in April 23rd 2014, also known as Marco Civil da Internet, establishes principles, guarantees, rights and duties of the Internet users in Brazil. Its development happened through a collaborative process, exploiting the Internet as a platform for debate between government and society. Due to its pioneering effort, the Marco Civil and its development process have become an international reference as regards the development of Internet-related policies and legislation.
The elaboration process of the Marco Civil started in 2009 – with the drafting of the proposed bill – conceived and developed in partnership between the Center for Technology and Society at Getúlio Vargas Foundation and the Brazilian Ministry of Justice. The initiative is considered a pioneering experience of participatory democracy for Brazil. It was the first time that a draft bill was formulated thanks to online public consultations and public debates evolved through digital platforms.
After the Brazilian Congress approved the text as ordinary law in April 2014, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation envisioning the elaboration of the Decree aimed at the regulation of some aspects of the Marco Civil. The first phase of the consultation toke place in 2015, using a platform that received more than 60,000 visits and approximately 1,200 comments. The contribution of CTS/FGV to this phase of the consultation can be accessed following this link.
Further information about the public debate on the Marco Civil can be found here.
Timeline - from the start until the first phase of public debates in 2015.
